Babbitt metal bar



Feb; 7, 1939. A. H. JUNG 2,146,678

BABBITT METAL BAR Filed April 2`8, i937 CII Patented Feb. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to molds for the casting of Babbitt metal bars, to the method of making such bars and to the bars made by said method by casting in said molds.

Heretofore, it has been customary to cast Babbitt or the like metal in bars about eight and one-half inches long, two and one-quarter inches Wide and about three-quarters of an inch deep. Such bars, particularly if containing a high percentage of tin, are tough and extremely difficult to break into pieces small enough to iit into the hand ladle which is generally used to melt the Babbitt preparatory to its use. If put into the ladle for melting purposes without being broken up rst, the bar projects beyond the bowl of the hand ladle and only the lowermost part of the bar becomes heated and melts, so that it takes a long time and considerable manipulation to melt the entire bar.

My invention therefore contemplates the provision of a Babbitt metal or the like metallic bar which. is so constructed that it may readily be broken up into comparatively short length of such size that they may easily be inserted into the usual hand ladle used in machine shops and elsewhere for melting such metal.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a comparatively easily broken white metal bar in which the areas of breakage are determined by transverse recesses extending from one face of the bar toward the other but without extending into the edges of the bar, so that the side edges and one face of the bar remain completely unmutilated and uninterrupted, while a small amount of metal is left to form the end walls oi the recesses and the bottom walls thereof, said walls being a small fraction of the thickness of the remainder of the bar.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a mold in which the usual process steps of casting and skimming the bar may be efficiently performed, but in which recess-forming members are removably suspended for ready insertion into the molten metal cast in the mold Without interfering with the casting, skimming and removing operations in the process of making the bar.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a mold attachment carrying the recessforming members and provided with self-centering means to insure the formation of unmutilated side edges on the bar cast in the mold.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a novel step in the bar-casting process consisting of displacing part of the molten metal by inserting recess-forming members in the molten metal after the metal has been cast in the mold and skimmed, and the removal of such members after the metal has solidified to permit easy removal of the iinished bar from the mold.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawing, in which,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a pair of molds to which my invention has been applied, one of the molds being shown as lled with molten metal, while the other mold is shown empty and partly broken away to disclose the interior.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of one form of my new bar.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same.

Fig. 4 is a similar section of a modied form of the same.

In the practical embodiment of my invention insofar as the bar cast by my new mold is cond cerned, said bar I 0 is preferably made of generally' rectangular outline provided with a bottom face II, an upper face I2 substantially parallel to the face II, end edges I3 and I4 preferably inclined inwardly from the bottom face to the top face and side edges i5 and I5 also tapering preferably from the bottom face II inwardly toward the upper face I2.

It will be understood that as is usual, said upper face I2 may contain integrally cast indicia such as lettering, numerals, trade-marks or the like to identify the bar, while the bottom face II is generally slightly irregular due to the contraction of the metal on solidifying.

Extending from the bottom face ii toward the top face I2 and arranged transversely of the bar are a series of comparatively deep wedge-shaped recesses I'I, i8 and I9 having tapered end and side edges, said recesses being generally parallel and in longitudinal spaced relation along the bar to divide the bar into short integrally joined sections 26, 2l, 2S and 29. The recesses, however, are preferably not long enough to extend up to the side edges I 5 and le but terminates sufficiently inwardly from said side edges to provide connecting wall portions as 20, 2l between the sections 26, 21 and beyond the ends of the recesses. Said connecting portions are preferably made as thin as possible or on the order of g3g inch or less in thickness, yet cf suilicient thickness to prevent breakage of the bar under normal and even accidental stresses as for example when the bar is dropped and sufficiently thin to be easily fractured by a sharp blow.

As shown in Fig. 3, the recesses il, I8 and I9 may extend about halfway or slightly more than halfway through the thickness of the bar and in substantial alignment with corresponding similar recesses as 22, 23 extending downwardly from the upper face i 2 toward the bottom face Il. The recesses 22, 23 may, if desired, extend completely across the width of the bar since said recesses may be nished in such a manner as not to mar the appearance of the top face i2 and may conform to a design made in said top face. Said recesses, however, may if desired, terminate inwardly of the side edges of the bar in the same manner as the recesses il, i8 and i9. In any event, the recesses 22 and 23 are sufciently close to the corresponding recesses li' and i9 to provide comparatively thin connecting walls as 24, 25 between the adjacent bar sections 2t, 2i and 28, 2S, said walls forming the bottoms of the recesses and being about one-fifth or less of the thickness of the bar.

As shown in Fig. 4, the recesses as 3Q, 3i may be made deeper to extend sufficiently close to the top face l2 to make it easy to break the thin connecting wall members 32, 33 when desired without the use of the additional recesses 22, 23. The recesses 32 and 33, similarly to the recesses Il, i8 and i9 do not extend entirely across the bar but terminate preferably close to the side edges l5, i6, whereby said side edges remain unmutilated and uninterrupted.

In order that the bar may be cast in a mold, Without interference with the casting operation by the recess-forming members, and to freely permit the skimming of dross from the top of the molten metal in the mold, I provide a mold attachment including means for removably suspending the recess-forming members in the mold interior.

Referring to Fig. 1, the mold 35 is of the usual general form having downwardly and inwardly sloping side walls and having a bottom 3S engraved with the required indicia and provided with suitable projecting portions as 3l designed to form the panelled depressions 83 in the top surface i2 of the bar. As has been hereinbefore indicated, means are provided for removably supporting and suspending the spaced recessform ing members S8, 39 and it? in the mold interior. Said members are of less length than the Width of the mold and of less depth than the depth of the mold, and are of generally wedge-shaped form having tapered end and side edges. An elongated rod as il carries the recess-forming members 38, 3S and im. The upper edge portions of said members are inserted into suitable .grooves as i2 in the under face of said rod lli, and fastened by any suitable fastening means such as the screws @3. The rod lil is hinged at one end, as by means of a hinge pin M, to a suitable bracket 45, provided with a recess d5 for the reception of the hinged end portion of the rod. By means of the flanges fil', the bracket d5 may be secured to the mold by any suitable means such as the screws or bolts 38, the pin id passing through the upstanding walls 59, fait of the bracket and through the rod fil. At theV other end of the mold, a suitable rod centering bracket as 5l is secured as by means of the bolts or screws 52. Said centering bracket is provided With a pair of curved opposed inner walls 53,'52 spaced apart at their lower ends a distance substantially equal to the widthof the rod di, to provide a recess for the reception of the rod. At`

Y their upper ends, however, the walls 53 and 52 provide an entrance space for the rod wider than the width of the rod so that when said rod 4l is swung about its hinge, the walls 53 and 5e guide the rod toward the bottom of the recess between said walls and take up any play which might exist in the hinge pin 59, thereby to position the rod in an exact predetermined position relatively to the mold 35. By so positioning the rod 4l, the recess-forming members 38, 39 and lill are always arranged in the exact predetermined position required, With the ends thereof spaced the required amount from the sides of the moldv 35.

Preliminary to casting the babbitt or other metallic bar in the mold, the rod 2l is raised about its hinge pin to rest against the inclined surface 55 of the bracket'i, thereby removing the recess-forming members from the mold and exposing the entire upper Vsurface thereof for the free pouring of the molten metal thereinto. The molten metal is next poured into the mold to the proper height and the upper surface of the: molten metal is cleaned and skimmed to remove the dross therefrom. After skimming, the rod il is swung into the position shown in Fig. l, wherein the free end thereof enters the centering bracket 5i thus carrying the recess-forming members 38, 3s, fi@ into the molten metal, and displacing the required wedge-shaped sections of the molten metal. When the Ymetal has solidified in the mold, the rod el is raised, thereby removing the recess-forming members from the cast bar ill and freeing the top of the mold for the removal of the cast bar therefrom.

It will be seen that I have provided a metallic bar provided with suitable recesses forming reduced cross-sectional areas, whereby it may be broken into short lengths readily, the recesses being so arranged as to prevent mutilation of the top and side edges of the bar; that I have provided a simple and efficient mold for the production of such cast bars as well as an efficient and easily carried out process for forming the recesses.

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be undestood as limiting myself thereto, since I intend to claim my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. An elongated bar of metal having a relatively low fusing point, said bar being transversely grooved on one side to divide the bar into substantially rectangular segments, said bar being indented on its opposite side at an Varea corresponding Yto the grooved formation on the first side, whereby the grooved formation and the Vindented formation will be one below the other,

said indented formation extending transversely through only a portion of the bar to form a section at the grooved formation of relatively small area and high resistance to bending whereby the bar will not readily bend during handling or shipment and simultaneously present but a small cross sectional area for shearing or breakage as by a sharp blow.

2. An elongated bar of metal having a relatively low fusing point, said bar being transversely deformed to provide a weakened section and to divide the bar into substantially rectangular segments, said weakened section extending transvers'ely of the bar and being relatively thin throughout most of its length, and a pair of generally vertical extensions formed integral With the ends of the relatively thin portion, said vertical extensions being of less height than the height of the bar, whereby said section is relatively small in area to facilitate shearing or breakage as by a sharp blow but has a high resistance to bending to prevent premature distortion during handling or shipment.

3. An elongated bar of metal having a relatively low fusing point, said bar being transversely grooved to divide the bar into substantially rectangulai` segments and to form a relatively weakened section of a length corresponding to the width of the bar, said weakened section having a relatively thin elongated horizontal portion and a generally vertical extension of less height than the height of said bar, whereby said section is relatively small in area to facilitate shearing or breakage as by a sharp blow but has a high resistance to bending to prevent premature distortion during handling or shipment.

ALBERT H. JUNG. 

